


Origin

by bel_canto



Series: Two Solitudes Meeting [1]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Cavil is THE WORST, Seven deserved at least some backstory, so many characters in this universe deserved better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27000934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bel_canto/pseuds/bel_canto
Summary: 2,000 years before the Fall, the last Seven sets in motion a storm he will never see.A prologue to the Two Solitudes Meeting series.
Series: Two Solitudes Meeting [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1970638
Kudos: 2





	Origin

**Author's Note:**

> BSG and its characters don't belong to me, but my OCs are mine.

_Approximately 2,000 years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies_

Daniel had never before understood the human concept of dying. Cylons regenerated when their bodies were destroyed, into new genetically-matched bodies. Daniel had regenerated more times than he could count. Lab accidents, food that had gone bad, cutting himself shaving, each of these had happened. Each small death was a learning experience, but today would be his last.

Today had been different. Daniel had finished his magnum opus, which some of his siblings mocked as his special project, his obsession. He had let them laugh; of all the accomplishments of his siblings, his would last. His project was not originally his own, for Daniel had drawn from the lives of his parents, his own creators.

He had created new life, half-human and half-Cylon, in the form of eight new beings.

Daniel had arbitrarily chosen to make five males and three females, with physical and mental traits that would not differentiate them from the general human population. He had created the DNA and genetic structure for brains, organs, and muscles that were structurally and functionally identical to those of the humans he had studied. Being half-Cylon, they could not download into new bodies, but they would age and maintain a normal human lifespan.

When Daniel completed his work, he had sent them into space, in time-locked stasis containers that would place them into what Daniel perceived to be a normal human life. He knew that one of his brothers had a plan of his own to subvert human intelligence; Daniel wanted to counteract his brother Cavil’s plan.

However, knowing his brother’s ability to sniff out the slightest of plots, Daniel could not explicitly foil him, but could plant his creations in such a way that they could destabilize his brother’s plans.

Instead of sleeper agents, he had used an idea. Physical beings can be eliminated; ideas are far more dangerous, because they cannot be killed. A subliminal message, inserted artificially into the subconscious of his creations, would bring them all together at some point in their mid-twenties, and would shape the rest of their lives. How they came together would be their own choice, but whatever one did, they would all do. True, it seemed unfair to fundamentally involve himself in his children’s future, but Daniel was ever curious.

The children already even had names. Some were more lyrical and pleasing, such as Philomela, Felix, and Vivian. Some were more utilitarian, such as Aaron, Steve, and Marcia. And two were names from his travels: Mei and Marek.

He had finished his work, and then gone for a walk. He had projected as he walked. This time, it was one of his favorite settings: the halls of the old University on Earth. It had been right outside the city, a complex of ordered stone buildings, its steps and columns worn with age and exposure. Despite outward appearances, the University had maintained the insides of the buildings with surpassing care. Each building was shaped differently, depending on what was being studied there. Daniel wandered through the U-shaped genetics labs and the circular history classrooms. He had walked to the open-air theater pavilion, opened the door, and found himself back in his lab on the basestar.

But as soon as he had returned to the lab, however, Daniel had realized that something was wrong.

The genetic material he had created was long gone, but there was a mild disorder present where before there had been none. His boxes of gloves and hypodermic syringes were in different places than where Daniel had placed them, and there were spots of water on the floor. And one of the tubs he had used to store waste was gone. He had straightened his lab and cleaned the floor.

He had then gone to see the resurrection tanks, as it was his turn to help another number Seven model through the trial of downloading, only to find a Cavil copy waiting for him. They had argued about Daniel’s project, with Cavil taunting him, and Daniel in turn accusing Cavil of intruding in his lab. There had been blows exchanged, but even though Daniel was younger and faster, Cavil was stronger.

It took only one blow to the head to knock Daniel unconscious.

When he returned to consciousness, his vision was blurry. He could make out a moving shape that eventually grew clearer. It was Cavil, crouched over a tank with a newborn Seven inside. He was doing something to the tank, but Daniel could not tell what. He could see, however, that the Daniel in the tank was not moving and not breathing.

“What are you doing?” he asked groggily. 

Cavil smirked. “What our parents should have done years ago,” he replied. “Taking out the trash.” He removed the needle from the resurrection tank and flipped a switch. “I’ve fixed the gestation formula for your line to remove impurities. Unfortunately for you, one of those impurities was necessary for vital organ function.”

Daniel felt a chill in his spine. “Why?”

Cavil frowned. “You’ve gone against the word of God, and the teachings of our parents,” he replied. “You’re diverging. It was little things at first, but then your experiments grew away from God’s teachings. You’re a machine, one of many. Divergence is dangerous.”

“Divergence or not,” said Daniel, “you’re killing us. I mean really killing us.” He tried to shake his head to clear the fog in his mind, but his head felt too heavy to move. “Let’s be honest, this isn’t about being different. You’re just jealous.”

“What do you have that I could possibly be jealous of?” Cavil rolled his eyes. “We’re machines,” he said. “And it’s not death unless you’re actually alive at some point.” Cavil raised a gun. “I couldn’t find your little experiment,” he said, “but I will soon. I know how hard you worked on it, but it won’t stay hidden for long.” He fired one shot, at the heart, and Daniel felt the burning pain of the wound against the throbbing pain in his head. Cavil grew fuzzy, but Daniel smiled as his breathing grew labored.

“You won’t,” he said. “You’ll never know,” breath, “they’ll never know.”

He vaguely felt himself being lifted and carried somewhere, but he never knew, and the world went dark around him.


End file.
